Incubator egg tray



July 13, 1937. H. H. REINERS INCUBATOR EGG TRAYS Filed May 25, 1936 m 11mm 15 H H RE/NERS Patented July 13, 1937 1 UNETED STATES PATENT oFFicE6 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in incubator eggtrays generally, although'more particularly to followers employed incombination with such trays.

Among the several objects of the invention are to provide a followerhaving an egg-contacting face of soft material whereby the eggs may beretained in compact relation in the tray without danger of becomingbroken when the follower is moved into contact therewith; to provide apair of spaced followers either one or both of which may be used in atray, one of the followers yieldably contacting an end wall of the trayand the other being adjustable longitudinally of the tray,

7 1 5 and to provide a follower which is simple in construction, cheapto manufacture, and durable in operation.

:With these and other objects in View which will more fully appear, thenature of the invention will be more clearly understood by following thedescription, the appended claims, and the several views. illustrated inthe accompanying drawing.

In the drawing: rm. Figure 1 is a partial plan view of an egg trayshowing the use of bothfollowers in the tray,

Figures 2 and 3 are perspective views of the followers,

Figure 4 is anenlarged view, partly in section, 1 21 of the adjustablefollower, and

Figure5 is an enlarged section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1. 7

Like reference numerals designate corresponding' parts throughout theseveral figures of the drawings 1 I Referring to the accompanyingdrawing, A designates'an egg tray which includes a bottom 5, side walls(5 and l, and end walls 8 and 9. Adapted to be located within the traybetween the side walls 6 and l is a relatively stationary follower B anda relatively adjustable follower C.

The follower 13 comprises a relatively stiff body it preferably formedfrom sheet metal and of an elongated rectangular shape, a strip H of 4:5relatively soft material such as sponge rubber which is firmly securedto the front face of the body as by adhesive or other suitable means,and a flat spring l2 which is connected centrally by a rivet it or thelike to the rear face of the 50 body Ill. The relatively soft strip Hextends substantially throughout the length of the body it whereas theflexible end portions I 3, i l of the spring i2 terminate short of theends of said body iii. This follower B, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, ispositioned against the end wall 9 whereby the end portions M, M of thespring [2 contact the end wall and thereby serve to yieldably retain thefollower against said end wall. The relatively soft facing III isadapted to be contacted by the eggs which are placed within the 5 tray.

The adjustable follower C includes a body l5 of relatively stiffmaterial, preferably sheet metal, and a facing I'B of relatively softmaterial, preferably sponge rubber. The body 15 is elongated andrectangular in shape and the soft facing material [6 extendssubstantially throughout the length of said body. The body l5 has itsupper and lower edges rolled to form resultant upper and lower tubularguides I! and H! which extend throughout the length of the body. Mountedin one end of each of the guides H and iii are anchor pins l9 and whichare rigidly secured therein by solder or other means, thepins projectingoutwardly beyond the associated end of the body 15 and having theirextreme ends pointed for engagement with'the wall 6 of the tray.Mounted'in the other ends of the guides l1, I8 are retractible anchorpins 2!, 22 and coil springs 23, 24 which function to yieldably urge thepins 2|, 22 beyond the associated end of the body l5. These retractiblepins 2|, 22 are also provided with pointed outer ends for engagementwith the wall I of the tray. In order that both retractible pins 2!, 22may be moved simultaneously, I have provided a cross rod 25 which issoldered to the projecting ends of the pins, the end of the cross rodterminating in a finger piece 26 which projects above the body I5. Inorder to assist in guiding the pins 2!, 22, the cross rod 25 is formedinto a longitudinally slotted guide or loop 21 whichhas sliding contactwith a guide pin 28 fixed to the body It.

In operation, the tray is placed at an inclination, and if bothfollowers are to be used, the follower B is first placed in the tray atthe lower end thereof, as shown in Figures 1 and 5. Eggs 29 are thenpositioned within the tray and in advance of the follower B. After apredetermined quantity of eggs have been thus positioned, the follower Cis positioned in the tray at the upper end thereof and is then shiftedlongitudinally with respect to the tray until the follower contactstheupper row of eggs whereby the eggs will be disposed in compact relationand thereby firmly held against relative movement. When adjusting thefollower C it is only necessary for the operator to engage thefingerpiece 26 and retract the pins 2|, 22 and shift the follower to itsdesired position in contact with the eggs, and

then release the fingerpiece whereby the anchor pins [9, 20 and 2|, 22will frictionally engage the side walls 6 and 7 of the tray and retainsaid follower in its adjusted position. By providing the followers withegg contacting surfaces of soft material all danger of breaking the eggsis avoided and furthermore the soft material functions to betterposition the eggs in firm contact with one another.

As previously stated, either of the followers may be used if desired.Under these circumstances, the eggs are placed in the tray in transverserows, the first row being positioned in direct contact with the lowerend wall of the tray. After the tray has been filled, a small spacebetween the top row of eggs and the upper end Wall of the tray willexist, and either one of the followers may be positioned in said spaceto retain the eggs in firm contact with one another.

It will also be apparent that two of the followers B, or two of thefollowers C, may be employed with a given tray, one of the followersbeing positioned against the lower end wall of the tray and the otherbeing positioned between the top row of eggs and the upper end Wall ofthe tray.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure andarrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with an egg tray including side walls and an endwall, of a normally stationary transverse follower located between theside walls and having yieldable contact with said end wall and of alength for simultaneously engaging a plurality of eggs, and a secondtransverse follower located between and yieldably engaging the sidewalls, whereby said followers may be yieldably opposed to each other andthe eggs therebetween in any spaced or angular relation necessary toproperly grip said eggs.

2. The combination with an egg tray including side walls and an endwall, of a normally stationary transverse follower located between theside walls and having yieldable contact with said end wall and of alength for simultaneously engaging a plurality of eggs, and a secondtransverse follower located between and yieldably engaging the sidewalls whereby said followers may be yieldably opposed to each other andthe eggs therebetween in any spaced or angular relation necessary toproperly grip said eggs, each follower including a relatively stiff bodyand a relatively soft egg-contacting facing.

3. A follower for egg trays comprising a sheet metal body having spacedupper and lower anchor pins rigidly secured to the body and projectingoutwardly beyond one end thereof, said body having spaced upper andlower guides extending longitudinally thereof adjacent the other end,retractible anchor pins slidably mounted in said guides, a cross rodrigidly connecting the projecting parts of the pins, and a coil springmounted in one of said guides for normally urging the rectractible pinsoutwardly.

4. A follower for egg trays comprising a sheet metal body having spacedupper and lower anchor pins rigidly secured to the body and projectingoutwardly beyond one end thereof, said body having spaced upper andlower guides extending longitudinally thereof adjacent the other end,retractible anchor pins slidably mounted in said guides, a cross rodrigidly connecting the projecting parts of the pins, a coil springmounted in one of said guides for normally urging the retractible pinsoutwardly, and a fingerpiece fixed to the upper pin and projecting abovethe body for retracting both pins simultaneously.

5. A follower for egg trays comprising a sheet metal body having spacedupper and lower anchor pins rigidly secured to the body and projectingoutwardly beyond one end thereof, said body having spaced upper andlower guides extending longitudinally thereof adjacent the other end,retractible anchor pins slidably mounted in said guides, a cross rodrigidly connecting the projecting parts of the pins, a coil springmounted in one of said guides for normally urging the retractible pinsoutwardly, a guide pin fixed to the body and extending outwardly fromone face thereof, and a longitudinally slotted guide forming part ofsaid cross rod and engageable with said guide pin.

6. The combination with an egg tray including side walls and an endwall, of a normally stationary transverse follower located between theside walls at one end of the tray and comprising a stiff, resilientmaterial faced body extending across the width of the tray forsimultaneously engaging a plurality of eggs, and a long leaf springattached centrally to the body and having its free ends yieldablyengaging at the respective sides of said end Wall; and a secondtransverse follower adjustably opposing said stationary follower andeggs therebetween and comprising a stiff resilient faced body extendingacross the width of the tray and having sharp pointed pins projectingfrom its ends and means for yieldably holding the pins projected againstthe tray side walls to permit adjustment of the spaced and angularrelation of said followers as occasion may demand.

HERBERT H. REINERS.

